A Management Plan to Balance Cultural and Natural Resources: The Minute Man National Historical Park Case Study
Gavrin BJ, Rasmussen M, Fabos JG, Ahern J, METLAND Research Group Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. 1993. A Management Plan to Balance Cultural and Natural Resources: The Minute Man National Historical Park Case Study. Cultural Landscape Management Plans. Research Bulletin Number 744. Massachusetts Agriculture Experiment Station; NPS Northeast Regional Office. Northeast Regional Office/University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Landscape Management Plan and Case Study for Minute Man National Historical Park, National Park Service This study is driven by the planned rehabilitation of the cultural landscape of Minute Man National Historical Park (NHP), located in the Concord-Lexington area of eastern Massachusetts. The rehabilitation of the landscape will be guided by a Cultural Landscape Treatment Plan developed by the National Park Service (NPS) and the METLAND Research Group, Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. The plan was directed by an acknowledgment that New England revolutionary history was shaped by the natural resource base, and the natural resource base in turn has contributed to the shaping of the cultural landscape. This perspective allows for a more integrated understanding of the factors influencing causes and outcomes of Revolutionary War events, as well as enhancing the cultural and natural landscape history. This plan will address the identification and management of the cultural, agricultural, and natural resources of the Park. In assessing these resources now, the Cultural Landscape Management Plan can successfully guide the rehabilitation of a landscape recognized world-wide for its role in the birth of this country. The study presents a comprehensive appraisal of the battlefield, the cultural landscape history of the past 300 years, and the agricultural resource potential and relevant natural resources. These assessments utilize what Bruce MacDougall calls a "place oriented approach," incorporating geographic information systems and computerization approaches to complete a more comprehensive analysis. Aside from Minute Man NHP, the study is intended to provide a framework for planning and designing interpretive places that is adaptable to other NPS sites, state parks, and conserved landscapes. These interpretive opportunities can balance the needs for recreation, education, and conservation; also providing visitors with a chance to discover our evolving relationship with nature over time.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Gavrin, Beth; Rasmussen, Meg; Fabos, Julius; Ahern, Jack; METLAND Research Group Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
- Date of Issue
- 1993-07
- Publisher
- Massachusetts Agriculture Experiment Station; NPS Northeast Regional Office
- Units
- MIMA , NER
- Keywords
- Agricultural Reintroduction, Agricultural Resources, Agriculture, American Revolution, Battlefield, case study, Concord, Conservation, Cultural Resources, farm, Geographic Information Systems, Interpretation, Interpretive Road, Landscape, Landscape History, Lexington, Management Plan, Massachusetts, METLAND Research Group, Natural Resources, New England, Place Oriented Analysis, Preservation, Recreation, Rehabilitation, resource potential, Revolutionary War, Running Battle, Vegetation, Wetlands